Knitted fabric and method of making same



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UNITED STATES PATENT crates.

RALPH HINCHLIFIF, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 BURSON KNITTINGCOM- PANY, 0F ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF. ILLINOIS.

KNITTED FABRIC AND mnrnon or MAKING SAME.

Application filed September 1, 1922. Qerial No. $5,726.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH HINCHLIFF, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knitted Fabrics andMethods of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to knitted fabrics and the method of making thesame and aims to produce a fabric comprising a plurality of pliesstructurally independent of each other but so united, by the crossing ofthe yarns of each ply from face to face of the fabric, that a unitarydouble ply fabric is produced.

In the production of this fabric one or more courses of yarn are knittedalternately on opposite sides of a median plane of the fabric producinga series of longitudinally disposed webs each containing any desirednumber of wales, the webs being disposed in alternation on oppositesides of said median plane. A series of thesewebsthus formed andarranged constitute one ply of the fabric.

The other ply is similarly formed by knitting one or more courses ofyarn alternately with the courses of the first ply so as to produce aseries of webs similar to the webs of the first ply and also disposed inalternation upon opposite sides of the median plane of the fabric. Thewebs of the second ply are opposed to the companion webs of the firstply and between adjacent webs, where the web-connecting yarns of one plyextend from one face of the fabric to the other, the web-connectingyarns of the other ply also extend in the opposite direction from oneface to the other of the fabric, with the result that the web-connectingyarns of the two plies cross between adjacent webs.

' This construction produces therefore a double ply fabric the opposedwebs of which, together with the crossed web connecting yarns betweenthem, form a series of parallel tubes extending longitudinally of thefabric. Each tube is produced by two opposed webs each incorporated inits individual ply or fabric and the webs of each ply appear inalternation upon opposite faces of the fabric with the result that eachface presents the appearance of being made up of a series of connectedwebs whereas, as a matter of fact, adjacent webs on both faces of thefabric are not connected one to the other but are united, by theweb-connecting yarns, only with adjacent webs on the opposite face ofthe fabric. 7

My fabric therefore comprises two structurally independent webs whichintersect each other at intervals and along the lines of suchintersection groups of yarns extending from front to back of the fabricare disposed in alternation-with similar groups of yarns extending fromback to front of the fabric. This arrangement of grouping of thewebconnecting yarns gives the appearance of openings between the roupsof web-connecting yarns of each p y through which the welZl-connectingyarns of the other ply exten A fabric constructed in accordance with andembodying my invention is capable of many uses such as for scarfs,neckties, hat bands, belts, sweaters and other wearing apparel and, ifthe plies be knit of different colored yarns or of different charactersof yarns or comprise combinations of the suggested differences, verybeautiful and attractive results may be secured.

In order to facilitate an understanding of my invention, I'haveillustrated on the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a fabric knittedin accordance withmy invention;

Fig. 2 is an exaggerated view showing the yarn arrangement, a portion ofone plybeing removed to more clearly illustrate the arrangement of theyarn;

Fig. 3 is a sectionalview on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and i i Fig. 4 is asimilar view on the line 4- of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be observed that the fabricpresents the appearance of a series of parallel webs arranged inproximity to each other. Alternate webs 1, 3, 5, 7, etc., appearing onone face of the fabric, together with the inter vening connected websdisposed on the opposite face of the fabric constitute one ply of thefabric, whereas the other ply is com: posed of webs 2, 4, 6, 8, etc.,together withthe intervening connecting webs which appear on theopposite face of the fabric.

While my novel fabric may be knit on any machine capable of producingthe same, my invention may bevery practically carried out on a straightmachine. In producing my fabric on such a machine the needles on eachbed are divided into groups, each group containing as 'many needles. asthere are wales desired in each web of the completed fabric. The yarn asit is carried across the machine'is knitted by the first group ofneedles on one bed, then carried across to the other bed and knitted bythe second group of'needles, thence back to the first bed where it isknitted by the thirdgroup of needles, thence to the fourth group ofneedles on the opposite bed, and so on across the machine, each group ofneedles producing ,a web and the webs being formed alternately onopposite beds ofthe machine. Upon the return course the same procedureis followed. As many courses may be knitted in this manner as may bedesirable, although I have found that very satisfactory results areobtained when four courses are knitted in this manner before changing. v

The other ply of the fabric is knitted by the needles which remainedidle during the knitting of the first ply, i. e., as the yarn is carriedacross the machine, the first group of'needles on the bed-op osed to thefirst group previously employe are thrown into operation, the yarn isthen crossed over to the opposite bed and knitted by the second group ofneedles opposed to the second group employed in knitting the first ply,whereupon the yarn-is carried across to the thirdgroup of needles on thefirst bed, and so on in alternation across the machine. As many coursesmay be knitted in the same manner in this ply of'the' fabric as may bedesirable, although preferably equal numbers of courses are knittedalternately in the respective plies as the knitting of the fabricprogresses.

It will be apparent therefore that in the production of a fabric inaccordance with my invention two structurally independent plies areknitted progressively in alternation and that each ply comprises aseries of webs knitted by groups of needles arranged in alternation onthe twobeds of the machine so that thewebs are disposed alternately onweb-connecting yarns of one ply are dis posed in crossed relation withrespect to the,

web-connecting yarns of the other ply.

Referring now again to the drawin 's, it will be observed that, in thefabric illustrated, four courses are knitted in each ply before theknitting is shifted to the other ply; for instance, the courses producedby yarns 6, 7, 8 and 9 are knitted forming webs 2, 4, etc., on the facepresented of the fabric, and webs 1, (not shown) 3, 5','etc., on theopposite face of the fabric, these webs 1, (not shown) 2, 3, 4, 5', 6,etc., with their connecting yarns forming one ply of the fabric.

Four courses arethen knitted in the other ply of the fabricproducing'avebs 1, 2 (not shown) 3, 4', 5, 6, etc., the web-connectingyarns- 10, 11, 12 and 13 being disposed in crossed relation withrespectto the yarns 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the other ply. 1

The Web-connecting yarns of both plys in this particular fabrictherefore extend from one face to the other in groups of fours, thoseextending from back to front being alternated with those extending fromfront .to

As a matter of fact the cross connecting webs become somewhat distortedby the ad jacent groups of yarns, as is illustrated on a somewhatexaggerated scale in Fig. 2, wherein a portion of web 3 is removed andthe-yarns extending from web 3 on one face of the fabric to web 4' onthe opposite face are illustrated.

, The progressive production of the two plies in the manner explainedproduces in the completed fabric a series of tubes as illustrated inFig. 4, each tube being formed by the opposed webs of the respectiveplies in conjunction with the crossed web-connecting yarns joining theadjacent webs of each ply and extending from one face of the fabric tothe other. therefore composed of a series of contiguously arranged tubesand isformed from two structurally independent plies of fabricintersecting each other at the edges of the various tubes.

The fabric herein shown is illustrative merely, and a greater or lessnumber of courses may be knitted in a ply before shifting the yarn tothe other ply. The number of web-connecting yarns in each group will ofcourse be dependent'upon the number of courses knit before changing fromone bed to the other.

The fabric therefore is composed of a pluralityof plies or layersstructurally in dependent of each other but united together into aunitary structure and in which each The resultant fabric is v ply hasthe appearance of being provided with openings through which the yarnsof the other ply extend from one face to the other of the fabric. Twoseparate interlocking fabrics are thereby produced each of whichcomprises a series of parallel webs or panels in which the stitches arereversed as the yarn is carried from one face to the other of thefabric.

I claim:

1. A knitted fabric comprising a plurality of plies each consisting'of aseries of webs arranged in alternation on opposite sides of the medianplane of the fabric, the webs of each ply being connected together byyarns crossing said median plane, and the web connecting yarns of eachply being disposed in groups alternating with similar groups of webconnecting yarns of the other ply, whereby eyelets are formed by thesaid connecting yarns of said groups.

2. A knitted fabric comprising a plurality of plies each ply beingformed of yarn courses .knitted I into inulti-wale webs disposed inalternation on opposite sides of the median plane of the fabric andunited by connecting yarns, the connecting yarns of each ply beingarranged in groups and disposed in alternation longitudinally of thefabric with similar groups of the other ply, whereby eyelets are. formedby the said connecting yarns of said groups.

3. A knitted fabric comprising a plurality of intersecting plies, eachconsisting of multi-wale webs disposed in alternation on opposite sidesof the median plane of the fabric and connected together bycross-connecting yarns, the opposed webs of the plies together with thecross connecting yarns forming a series of parallel longitudinallyextending tubes, the cross connecting yarns of each ply being disposedin groups arranged in alternation with and crossing the similar groupsof the other ply, whereby eyelets are formed by. the cross-connectingyarns of said groups.

4. A multi-ply knitted fabric each ply of which comprises a series ofmulti-Wale longitudinally extending webs disposed in alternation onopposite faces of the fabric and in opposition to similar webs of theother ply so as to form a series of inter-connected tubes, the adjacentwebs of each ply being secured together by cross-connecting yarnsarranged in groups longitudinally of the fabric and disposed inalternation with similar groups of the other ply, whereby eyelets areformed by the cross-connecting yarns of said groups.

5. The method of knitting a multi-ply fabric each ply of whichcomprisesa series of multi-wale longitudinally extending Webs disposed inalternation on opposite faces of the fabric and in opposition to similarwebs of the other ply so as to form a series of interconnected tubes,the adjacent webs of each ply being secured together, by crossconnectingyarns, consisting in progressive ly knitting plural courses, each coursebeing knit with opposed alternating groups of needles so as to providesaid longitudinally extending webs disposed in alternation on oppositefaces of the fabric, and in knitting plural courses with alternatinggroups of needles opposed to those above mentioned whereby toproducewebs in opposition to similar webs of the other ply.

'6. The method of knitting a multi-ply fabric consisting in progressix'cly knitting plural courses, each consisting of a series of median planeof the fabric, the adjacent webs of each ply being secured togetherbycross-connecting yarns.

RALPH HINCHLIFF.

